7 is actually pretty fast on slower computers, but it doesnt have all the drivers for every manufacturer yet. So if your video or something else is slow... remember this is still beta. I first had it installed about a year ago and it really sucked with some of the drivers, its getting better..

But maybe i am biased since i work for the evil empire , though i have nothing to do with the OS .

i am using 7 ultimate 64 and i love it thus far. easy to use not annoying fast and not irritating. much better then vista imo (which i used) though not quite as nice as osx imo (i have partitions of everything xp, vista, w7, osx on the mbp(even have xp on the mbp), and linux). i would say it is a definite improvement from vista, though doesn't match the ease of use of osx. quicksilver ftw!

this was not the case for me.. you are correct about the download manager but i received an error from microsoft when validating the original file for the continuation of the download. i messed around with it for a good 10 minutes before finally giving up and am re-downloading now.

"Windows 7 is certainly a huge improvement over Windows Vista and other versions. I can only describe it as having the really neat features and eye-candy of Vista and the stability of Windows XP. It's very clear that Microsoft's main goal with Windows 7 is performance and stability. Microsoft has also made it clear that the system requirements to run Windows 7 is very light. You will be able to run Windows 7 on the same systems that Windows XP runs on and you won't need advanced computers with 4GB of RAM and 4Ghz processors, which is a huge break in tradition. Usually with each operating system release, Microsoft adds to the system requirements, but this time, Microsoft is cutting them back.

Windows 7 is a big step towards having an operating system that has a lot of neat and useful features, but also has rock-solid stability and performance at the same time. When Microsoft releases this beta to the public, there's no doubt there will be a lot of buzz and I think a lot of praise as well."

7 is actually pretty fast on slower computers, but it doesnt have all the drivers for every manufacturer yet. So if your video or something else is slow... remember this is still beta. I first had it installed about a year ago and it really sucked with some of the drivers, its getting better..

But maybe i am biased since i work for the evil empire , though i have nothing to do with the OS .

Haha, I too am a minion of the empire. (Building 17 in the usability lab when I am in Redmond).
Being directly involved with Windows 7 (technical side), my opinion is that it is merely a much needed name change from Vista.